The Week in Games

Hype of the Week

Three games make a strong running for the title this week: Left 4 Dead 2 (all, 90 on Metacritic), Assassin’s Creed II (Xbox, PS3, 91 or so on Metacritic) , and the New Super Mario Bros. Wii. (Wii, 87 on Metacritic). All three are worth playing, although, personally, I got a little tired of Left 4 Dead’s “BANG BANG BANG BANG GAH! RUN! BANG! BANG! BANG!” after a couple of hours, and the Super Mario Bros thing never really grabbed me. So, let’s talk about Assassin’s Creed II!

None of these games suck:

The promise of Assassin’s Creed II is that you can be a Batman-level badass in Renaissance Venice and Florence, flipping among the rooftops (using parkour moves), chasing and dropping in on bad guys and soundly pounding them with halberds, axes, swords and daggers. Along the way, you meet a young Leonardo da Vinci, who supplies you with upgrades and toys, including a flying machine, based on plans from the real-life Leonardo.

By all accounts, the game succeeds. GameInformer, in their 9.5 review, says:

Assassin’s Creed II shatters expectations. It’s bigger, more complex, better looking, and more fun to play than its predecessor. … In many ways, the sequel is far less innovative. Ubisoft Montreal improved all of the standout features, but it didn’t push the envelope. Instead, the team used this go-around to fix problems, perfect their strengths, and, perhaps most importantly, model some of the tent-pole ideas of other games. The pacing of open world crime games, the upgrading mechanics of a great RPG, the reward-based hidden items and unlockables of an exploration game, the puzzle elements of a classic adventure game – they all merge flawlessly in Assassin’s Creed II.

Here’s the trailer:

Black Friday

Early leaks have begun for Black Friday.

• Kotaku has GameStop’s flyer.
• GamerDeals has some details of Walmart’s sale.
• Joystiq has deals that start Sunday for Toys R Us.

My picks would be:

• Walmart has the entire Rock Band 2 Special Edition package — drums, guitar, and mic — for $50.
• If you’re at Walmart, $10 for Midnight Club Los Angeles or Grand Theft Auto IV are good buys.
• Walmart also has the Nintendo DS Lite for $98.
• GameStop has these titles for $40: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Left 4 Dead 2, Guitar Hero 5, Halo 3 ODST.

Business

The 200 or so people who work at Pandemic Studios (Destroy All Humans!, Mercenaries, and the soon-to-be-released The Saboteur) woke up on Tuesday to rumors that they might be laid off that day. The rumors were true. Kotaku reported, “Among those let go were the studio’s top three employees: Andrew Goldman, formerly the studio’s CEO; Josh Resnick, formerly the studios president; and Greg Borrud, vice president of product development.” EA made it clear that they intended to continue the Pandemic brand, which must be faint comfort to the people who built that company.

Microsoft may have banned up to 1 million players suspected of owning consoles that have been modified to play pirated games. “Consoles banned from Xbox Live will still function if games are played offline, but players booted from the Xbox Live service will not be able to sign into their accounts or engage other players over the Internet,” InformationWeek says. A class action suit is underway.

A market research company reported that 14 percent of Americans have an “online gaming” subscription — meaning they’re paying for XBox Live, an online gaming website, an MMO, or an online video game rental service. The same report said that 81 percent of Americans have cable; 76 percent have an internet subscription.

The U.S. Armed Forces have been using a game called America’s Army (PC, 70 for the latest version on Metacritic) to recruit new soldiers for the last 7 years or so. It’s been wildly effective. GamePolitics reports that, in testimony to Congress, the Army called the game more effective than “any other method of contact.” A study done by MIT said, “30 percent of all Americans age 16 to 24 had a more positive impression of the Army because of the game and, even more amazingly, the game had more impact on recruits than all other forms of Army advertising combined.”

Modern Warfare Rolls On

Activision announced that Modern Warfare 2 brought in $550 million in its first five days, becoming the largest entertainment launch ever last week. 5.2 million multiplayer hours were logged in that time. The Los Angeles Times reported:

Call of Duty cost $40 million to $50 million to produce, people close to the project said, about as much as a mid-size film. Including marketing expenses and the cost of producing and distributing discs, the launch budget was $200 million, on par with a summer popcorn movie — and extremely high for a video game.

GamesRadar cut the single-player mission down to its essential 90 seconds.

The Pretty

Pretty (or mysterious) things to look at this week include:

• The sketchbooks of Adam Saltsman, the guy behind Canabalt
• The trailer for The Prince of Persia with Jake Gyllenhaal and Ben Kingsley
• Castlevania recreated in the Half-Life 2 engine
• New images from the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII
• The BioShock 2 Special Edition pack
• 40 different artists consider Lara Croft
• A Pringles ad that looks like Silent Hill
• Mass: We Pray, the Catholic videogame. Which Joystik believes is a hoax!

The Spike Awards

Sadly, the Spike Awards are the closest thing this industry has to a formal award ceremony. Nominees were announced this week. Kotaku has the complete list. ‘Game of the Year’ nominees are:

• Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
• Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
• Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
• UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

And we’re out! … Thanks for reading, have a great weekend, and, if you like the round-up, tell somebody.